Take-Two has announced that strategic mastermind Sid Meier intends to embrace the playthings of our fairly uncivilized age and build Civilization Revolution, the designer's first "next generation" game. Scheduled for a Spring 2008 release on modern consoles and handheld platforms, the strategy game promises to build the widely appreciated Civilization gameplay "from the ground up" for consoles. According to the press release, that means "an all new accessible, visually immersive, and action-packed world" with a "streamlined time scale for quicker games, intense combat, and constant action." Yes, we checked twice to make sure we were reading the correct document.

It's also the game Sid Meier's always wanted to make, you know. "Civilization Revolution is the game I've always wanted to make!" he says. "We are excited to take advantage of the power of next generation consoles and the ingenuity of handhelds, to create a great and unique strategy game for newcomers to the series, as well as the millions of fans around the world who enjoy Civilization on the PC." Since the PC's Civilization almost seems like the shushing librarian compared to console gaming's heavily armed macho man, this "Revolution" faces quite a challenge in getting the two to shake hands and appeal to both sets of gamers. Mr. Meier had best prepare himself for an initial torrent of "it's being dumbed down" accusations.

You might choose to save those for your fellow player, as Civilization Revolution will support online multiplayer matches along with integrated video and voice chat. We can't wait to don togas and wave our scepters about as we crush the feeble armies of General H@xinat0rr 3K.